Path no more

BANGALORE: Pedestrians struggle on the busy road and scramble for space due to a missing footpath next to KIMS hospital at Professor Shiv Shankar circle. Broken footpaths have been a perennial issue in the city of Bangalore.City Express find out what makes the pedestrians and motorists unhappy on this road.A traffic cop who did not want to be identified said, “The footpath here has been missing for the past two to three months. I see people struggling to walk on this damaged footpath, and sometimes they also get stuck between vehicles while trying to reach the other side. I feel sorry for women who carry their child in one hand while holding others and walk on the road in the midst of a massive vehicular mayhem. The missing footpath has added to the problems of patients suffering from suffocation at the KIMS hospital. Sound pollution has also increased due to honking as the pedestrians are forced to walk on the roads.Honest officials are rarely found these days. I sincerely hope that the authorities provide a solution for these problems.”Speaking to the officials from V V Puram ward, they said that stones from the footpath were removed three weeks ago and the work will be completed within a week.Anjanappa, a doctor from KIMS hospital and research centre said, “I see people go through a lot of trouble to walk in traffic due to the lack of footpaths. And, it is extremely difficult to use this stretch of the road. There are no specific complaints by patients but it is quite natural that people are perturbed by the whole situation.”Footpaths which were created as a safe zone for pedestrians to walk have now become a dumping place for street vendors. These paths have become less useful for mankind and more functional for manholes and drains. People, especially the elderly folks and women, who walk past these roads are constantly horrified of the fast-moving traffic and blaring horns honking unexpectedly behind them.Pedestrians have lost the luxury of shade owing to cutting down of trees for road widening and incessant damaging of the ecological system. It is high time we realise our mistakes and find a permanent solution.